CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cleveland and Cuyahoga County are severing their ties with the Greater Cleveland Partnership, now that the region‘s chamber of commerce has endorsed the plan to build the Cleveland Browns’ future stadium in Brook Park, rather than downtown.
In a jointly written letter Tuesday, Mayor Justin Bibb and Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne said GCP’s decision to endorse the Brook Park stadium is “an affront to any partnership we have had together,” so as a result, they will stop participating in any GCP-led initiatives.
“The City and County are eager to continue engaging with the business community, but engagement with the Greater Cleveland Partnership is no longer a proper proxy for those business relationships,“ the mayor and executive wrote.
A reporter has reached out to GCP for comment.
The move comes just one day after GCP publicly backed the Haslam’s plan to build a new stadium and entertainment district in Brook Park. The endorsement ignited pushback from business owners and politicians, who say the suburban project would undermine the region‘s urban core.
GCP had long stayed quiet and didn‘t pick a side in the Brook Park versus downtown debate. But on Monday the influential business group ultimately sided with the Browns over Cleveland, saying a covered stadium would attract two-to-three times more visitors and would be better for the region.
With this came a caveat: The GCP said it also strongly encourages the Brook Park financing deal to include sending “more than $150 million” to Cleveland to help develop the lakefront. This would come from a combination of revenue generated by the stadium, and possibly a direct payment from the Haslams to Cleveland.
In their Tuesday letter, Bibb and Ronayne say there is “no win-win” if the Browns leave Cleveland.
“And no amount of money can account for the irreversible damage caused by the construction of an unneeded entertainment district that competes with downtown and suburban entertainment districts, strains the state’s finances, and drains tax revenue and visitors away from the economic center of our region,” Bibb and Ronayne wrote.
Cleveland and Cuyahoga will withdraw from three GCP’s committees that were focused on area’s civic vision, development and the upcoming airport remodel.
This isn‘t to say that city or county officials will never work with the GCP. However, they won‘t be in any committees or working groups led by the GCP.
These GCP-led working groups are meant to convene public officials and corporate leaders for shared goals. The chamber of commerce often sees itself as an organization that gathers all of the region‘s public, corporate and nonprofit leaders into one place to work on big projects.
Bibb and Ronayne say in their letter that the GCP no longer serves that purpose. They wrote that it’s “unclear whose interests GCP represents” -- saying the Browns leaving downtown also hurts the business owners, whether they be downtown or at entertainment districts across the county that must compete with the Haslams new venture.
In an interview with cleveland.com Tuesday, Baiju Shah, CEO of GCP, said his organization spent months researching the stadium debate.
Because the state has shown it’s willing to help foot the bill, he said the chamber of commerce felt it was finally time to weigh in publicly because they “want to ensure it is truly a win for downtown and the region.”
“GCP has made extensive efforts to bring stakeholders together as in other complex civic initiatives, and we do not take lightly that our positions diverge from some of our key partners,” the GCP said on Tuesday.
The GCP says the lack of a stadium opens up a huge site for real estate development on the lakefront.
The Browns also contend that their Brook Park stadium would be additive to the region, and that downtown would benefit from the increase in visitors.
Brook Park Mayor Edward Orcutt said the city is happy the GCP threw in their support, adding that his city has scrutinized the project to make sure it would be good for Brook Park.
GCP’s endorsement came after a vote by the executive committee members, with some members recusing themselves due to potential conflicts, according to the GCP. Recusals included Browns owner Dee Haslam, Cavs CEO Nic Barlage, who are on the executive committee, and Guardians owner Paul Dolan, GCP’s chair.
The entire 100+ person board did not vote, and Bibb and Ronayne called on those board members to “share publicly the concerns you have privately shared with us.”
This isn‘t the first time Bibb has taken civic action amid the Browns fights. In March he threatened to kick a Cleveland Browns official off lakefront planning board. He later reconsidered and paused the ouster.
The Browns plan
The Browns proposal is to build a $2.4 billion in Brook Park just east of Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. That would be surrounded by $1 billion of private investment, building apartments, hotels and retail. The team wants $1.2 billion in public borrowing evenly split between the state and county and to be paid back mainly through taxes generated at the site.
The Ohio House has approved $600 million under the Haslam plan, but the proposal still needs to pass the Senate and receive the governor’s signature.
Meanwhile, Ronayne has stood firm in his opposition to the county borrowing for the stadium.
Sean McDonnell is a reporter forcleveland.com and the Plain Dealer. You can reach him atsmcdonnell@cleveland.com.